Last year was a costly one for businesses that maintained discriminatory practices in employment matters. Whether it was extending unequal pay to female workers, denying promotions and job applications based on race or rejecting severance claims from employees with a disability, discriminatory behavior not only cost employers big money, but major damage to their reputations.

Need any further proof? Just take a look at some of the most notable cases in the top 10 most costly employer discrimination lawsuits of 2012:

Sex discrimination case leads to enormous settlement
Leading off the list is Womack, et al. v. Dolgencorp. In 2006, a group of female store managers filed a complaint against a high-profile general store alleging the chain paid male managers more than female employees working in the same position - a violation of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Two class action lawsuits representing more than 2,000 female employees were eventually consolidated into one lawsuit, and after about five years of legal wrangling, the case ended in summer 2012 when the offending institution agreed to pay out $22 million through a settlement.

The case against the general store chain wasn't the only sex discrimination case to be settled in 2012 that resulted in a company contributing major money.

The settlement that came out of Wagner et al. v. University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey stipulated the educational institution pay $4.5 million to 10 female professors who accused the school of pay discrimination.

Race-based discrimination costs employers
Establishments in New Jersey had a rough 2012 in regard to owning up to discriminatory practices. The third most costly case on the top 10 of 2012 was Hester et al. v. New Jersey Transit.

In the lawsuit, 10 minority transit police officers alleged they had been subject to a pattern behavior of discrimination and harassment based on their race, including superiors frequently using a certain racial epithet and refusing to shake hands in some instances. The settlement called for the transit authority to pay $5.8 million.

High-profile automaker pays the price for disability discrimination
Weighing in at $6 million in settlement costs and placing second overall on the top 10 is Cookson et al. v. Toyota Motor Corp. The automaker reached the deal with some 500 former workers on medical leave who claimed they were due equal severance pay not awarded to them after a west coast plant was shuttered while the employees were away.

As evidenced by the high-value nature of the settlements, employers put millions of dollars and their corporate reputation on the line when they engage in any discriminatory employment practices. To ensure compliance in all relevant matters, firms should work with an established HR service provider to make use of applicant tracking tools and comprehensive screening solutions.